Zowie, Will! That's amazing. You very likely have a 1922 no D Lincoln cent. If you do, and if it is genuine, it is worth a bundle. Here is what the Grey Sheet, a conservative US price guide, lists as catalog value for a 1922 no D cent:

Back in 1922, troubles at the U S Mint caused no Lincoln cents to be produced at the Philadelphia branch. They were all produced at the Denver mint, and hence they carried the usual 'D' mint mark below the date. Cent production was way down that year, so a regular 1922D Lincoln with the D mint mark is valuable today all by itself, cataloging for $80 in average circulated condition.

But something happened to some of the dies (hard metal pieces with the coin pattern) in the striking machines. They were used and re-used so much, than the patterns became weak and mushy, so much so that the D mint mark disappeared all together. Voila! The 1922 no D cent.

The coin in the picture comes from eBay seller Simsion, and CoinQuest heartily thanks them for use of their coin photo. It sold on eBay for $1200.

If you look on eBay you may find 22 no D's on eBay that are not commanding strong prices. Why? Because Simsion's is certified by PCGS, the world wide leader in rare coin certification and grading. PCGS has graded this coin as XF40, equivalent to CoinQuests 'well preserved' description.

But the grade is not the only thing PCGS guarnatees. They also guarantee that the coin is genuine. You see, there are a lot of fake 22 no D's out there, and they are worth nothing.

If you want more information on PCGS, please look them up on the Internet or write to us for some detailed instructions.